Expert: Douglas Gan - 8/10/2009

Question
Hello. I have 2000 Dodge Caravan and out of the blue my air bag light went off. We were on our way out of town and it went off, so I wasn't too worried.  As we continued on our trip, the light would occasionally go on when I would make a turn.  Now it goes on with a "bing" noise letting me know that it is on (the same "bing" when I leave a car door open) and stays on.  We came back from our trip with the light on the entire trip back (300+ miles).  My husband and son think it is a sensor or fuse. Can you please assist. I have had no front end accidents. Thank you!

Answer
Hello Leticia:

What you have described perfectly is a clockspring failure.  The clockspring is a ribbon wire that is coiled up inside the steering column.  This component is the subject of many discussions on these threads. The clockspring delivers current to all of the systems above it… the airbag, cruise control and horn.  When it fails (and they do a lot) the wire breaks leaving one or all of the circuits open and inoperative.  This will cause the airbag light to come on and shut down the airbag system.  As long as that light is on, the airbags will NOT deploy, even in an accident.  Sometimes it’s intermittent as the wire begins to break.  Once it breaks completely, the ‘airbag’ light will remain illuminated.
This was a factory recall for many vehicles and many customers are unaware of that.  
Check out this site for information on researching your own vehicle for factory recalls!!!  I checked and your vehicle was subject to a recall.

http://www.airbagsolutions.com/nhtsa.aspx
Contact your local dealer and they will accommodate the replacement for you.
Check out these web pages for a more complete description:

http://www.airbagsolutions.com
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/docs/Clockspring.pdf
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/resources.aspx